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In brief

Ex-assistant links Armstrong to banned drug

By wire services
Published April 1, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas - A former personal assistant to Lance Armstrong filed court papers Thursday alleging that he discovered a banned substance in the six-time Tour de France winner's apartment early last year.

Mike Anderson, who is involved in a legal fight with Armstrong over what he says are promises the cyclist made to help Anderson start a bike shop, made the claim in a brief filed in Texas district court. The brief does not say whether Anderson saw Armstrong take banned substances.

Armstrong, who has won a record six consecutive Tours, has denied using banned substances, claiming he is one of the most drug-tested athletes in the world.

Armstrong's attorney, Timothy Herman, called the allegation false and "absurd."

Meanwhile, similar to another star facing doping accusations, baseball's Barry Bonds, speculation kept building that Armstrong would retire later this year after trying to win his seventh straight Tour de France.

"Four more months and it's over," he told the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. "I miss my kids and all the pressure I have on me is taking its toll."

TOUR COURSE: The 2006 Tour de France will start in the northeastern French city of Strasbourg to coincide with the World Cup across the border in Germany. The prologue will be July 1.

SOCCER: Donovan back in U.S.

Three-time U.S. national player of the year Landon Donovan is returning to southern California, where he was a teenage prodigy.

Donovan, 23, joined the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Major League Soccer team acquired the rights to sign him by trading high-scoring forward Carlos Ruiz to FC Dallas.

Donovan spent 21/2 months with Bayer Leverkusen of the German Budesliga, which signed him as a 16-year-old. He had expressed frustration over his lack of playing time with the team.

FAN BRAWL: A World Cup qualifying match between Iran and host North Korea erupted into a melee Wednesday evening when fans were enraged after referees failed to call a penalty against a visiting player. Bottles and rocks were thrown on the field, and masses of North Koreans surrounded the Iranian team's bus after the match. North Korea lost 2-0. Israel and France tied at 1 in another qualifying match.

COLLEGES: Colorado suit dismissed

A federal judge in Denver dismissed a lawsuit against the University of Colorado filed by two women whose allegations of sexual abuse sparked a scandal last year over its football team's recruiting practices.

Lisa Simpson, who has agreed to be identified in media reports, and the other woman say they were raped by players or recruits, but U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn said the plaintiffs failed to meet key criteria in claiming the school violated federal Title IX law by fostering an atmosphere that led to their assaults.

Meanwhile, the IRS has requested documents related to Colorado coach Gary Barnett's two summer camps. Details of the investigation, first reported in the Rocky Mountain News, were not available.

MORE FOOTBALL: Hawaii named former NFL coach Jerry Glanville associate coach and defensive coordinator. Glanville hasn't coached since Atlanta fired him after the 1993 season. ... Running back Jerry Seymour became the third Central Michigan player to be charged with criminal contempt, accused of lying during testimony in a case involving the beating death of a 26-year-old man. ... Wyoming extended coach Joe Glenn's contract through 2009 and renewed his assistants' deals.

BASEBALL: Cesar Carrillo pitched a five-hitter to lead host Miami to a 1-0 win over Oral Roberts.

GOLF: PGA rained on again

The rain that has plagued the PGA Tour this season struck again, washing out the opening round of the BellSouth Classic in Duluth, Ga. Eight of the 14 tournaments this season have been affected by the weather. Thunderstorms are also forecast for today.

PORTUGAL OPEN: Markus Brier shot 6-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead after the first day in Cascais.

HORSES: Outbreak slows transport

With the Kentucky Derby five weeks away, an outbreak of a highly contagious bacterial infection, which within the past month has been diagnosed in horses at training facilities in Florida and Kentucky, has caused some horsemen to delay shipping horses to Kentucky.

Known as strangles, the infection is commonly found on farms and rarely at tracks or training facilities. It is seldom fatal but can sideline a horse for several weeks.

SURGERY FOR DAY: Surgery to repair cartilage in the right hip of jockey Pat Day revealed more deterioration than was anticipated. But the Hall of Fame rider is recovering and has started rehabilitation. The surgery could keep Day out of the Kentucky Derby for the first time in more than two decades.

ET CETERA

COURTS: A federal appeals court in Los Angeles overturned a $44.6-million judgment in a lawsuit that pitted sports agent Leigh Steinberg's former company against ex-business partner David Dunn, who allegedly poached clients.

OLYMPICS: IOC president Jacques Rogge called on all governments to sign the World Anti-Doping Agency's drugs code before the Turin Winter Games in 2006.